Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston. Digital Identifier: JFKWHP-KN-17663.
Having taught at Cambridge University and MIT, Walt Rostow became speechwriter for President Eisenhower in 1958, before joining Kennedy’s presidential campaign. In 1961 he became McGeorge Bundy’s deputy, and later in the year he was appointed Chairman of the Policy Planning Council at the State Department. During the missile crisis, Rostow recommended putting on more pressure by instituting a POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants) blockade, but the idea was rejected as others doubted its effectiveness. In 1966 Rostow succeeded Bundy as national security adviser and became a strong supporter of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.